Max insisted on driving me home, he wanted to officially introduce himself as my boyfriend to my parents which I couldn't stop him from doing
I take the keys out of the front pocket of my guitar case and unlock the door
"Mum, Dad im home" I say excited and place my guitar on the stairs and help Max with bringing my suitcases inside
"Oh welcome back sweetheart did you have a nice flight?" My mum asks
"We did" I smile
"Oh Max, I'm so proud of what you did" my mum says and instantly hugs him aswell
"Thank you Mrs Van Hout" he chuckles
"I told you the right one wouldn't give two damns about what people think" my mum says and I chuckle
"Yeah you're right" I laugh
"Max do you want something to drink or some food?" She asks him
"No im good, I'm gonna go home as well. I haven't heard from any of my parents so thats going to be... interesting" he says and I grab his hand
"Hey, I can join you" I tell him
"It's alright, be with your family. You don't need to bother with mine" Max says
"Why don't we invite them over?" my Mum asks Max
"No I wouldn't want you to have that much work" Max says
"That's nonsense, I'll prepare something good, plus we'd get to meet your parents aswell" my mum insists and Max' eyes tell me that hes grateful for it
"Thank you Mrs Van Hout, Ill bring my stuff home and freshen up a little bit before I'll take them here" Max says and my mum nods
"Just let us know what time you will be here" she smiles at Max
"I will, thank you Mrs Van Hout" Max smiles "I'll see you later Dyl" he says and gives me a kiss goodbye before shutting the door
"He's such a sweetheart" my mum says and laugh
"Wheres dad?" I ask her
"At your grandparents fixing their TV, he should be back soon" she tells me and I grab the big stack of mail addressed at me and follow my mum to the Dining table and sit down
Its mainly advertising but one envelope stands out with my name written on it and I open it
Hallo Dylan,
volgende Week Zaterdag om 7u Savonds houden we een reünie van onze Klass in de Zaal direkt naast onze oude School en we hopen dat je erbij zijn kann
(Hello Dylan, next week on Saturday were having a reunion of our class in the big room next to our old School and we hope that you'll be there)
I closed my phone when I saw the email but I didn't expect them to send an actual card in the mail
"Whats wrong honey?" My mum asks and I show her the card and she quickly reads through it
"Oh they can piss off with their reunion and shove their invitation where the sun dont shine" she says angry and hands me back the letter
"I can't believe they'd think I would actually show up, they ruined my life" I say but somehow I feel tempted to show up
I quickly shake that idea out of my head and move away from that thought
"I wrote two more songs mum" I tell her excited
"Oh, since when am I allowed this information?" She says excited
"Well I havent told anyone about them and they're a bit personal and I wanted to show them to you first since I wrote part of the song after I came out of the hospital" I tell her and her face drops, she also hates talking about that moment in our lives
"Oh baby, You don't have to tell people about that part of your life" she says
"I know, but I want to, just listen to it please" I say and get up to grab my guitar out of its case and sit on the dining table while shes on the chair next to me "I called this one whats your problem?" I say and start playing, adding the lyrics I wrote down in my notebook
"...Yeah you knew I didnt have many friends when I met you, was the new kid tryin' to impress you, you always love coming to the rescue. I should've know when my mum said she dont like you, should've took it as a sign. Thought I caught you smiling the night that you saw me cry. Bet it feeds your ego, that I'm low all the time, cause that shit gets you high. What's your problem? You think that you're a god. You came and fucked my life up when you knew that I was lost. Whats your problem?..." I finish the song and my mum is in tears and I instantly get up and hug her
"Hey don't cry, I'm okay, im here" I comfort her
"I know, I'm still so hurt by what you've been through" she sags
"Im sorry that I put you through that shock mum" I say and she hold me tighter
"Don't apologise, we should've been there for you and see what you're going through" she says
"You couldn't have, I didn't want you and dad to know so I put on a brave face in front of you" I tell her to stop her from blaming herself
"It just hurts to know that you didn't see another way" she says
"Listen, im doing great now" I remind her "I got out of it the difficult way but here I am standing on my own two feet"
"Im so proud of you, baby. You've turned into such a beautiful and talented young man" my mum says and I hug her even tighter
"Hey me moving away wont change that" I say "im confident and honestly just feel bad for my old friends" I tell her
"Please just don't be a stranger"
"I could never" I tell her with a smile "So you like the song?"
"It's amazing, I don't know how you keep doing it" she says
"You know..." I say and pick up the letter again "maybe I should show up"
"Sweetheart, Ive seen what they put you through. Are you sure thats a good idea?" mum worries
"Not showing up would give them another win and I don't feel like giving them that satisfaction anymore" I say with a smile
"Just dont do anything that hurts you sweetie" she says and grabs my hand
"I got this mum" I say confident
"Didnt you have a second song?" She asks me
"Yeah... but I think I need to change that one a little bit, so it will have to wait" I tell her
"Alright, I should start with the food" mum says and I get off the table
"I'll be unpacking upstairs" I say and walk upstairs carrying one of my suitcases upstairs and opening it on my bed, Arthurs Letter instantly falling out of it and I grab it before it slides off the bed
Until you're home... do the 4 walls I grew up in still count as home?
I put the letter on my bulletin board and look at at it again. Couldn't Charles just said something like Read it when im alone or read it when im on the plane or whatever. What if he didn't mean home so complicated and just meant at my house?
My phone lights up as Max calls me
"Hey when are you here?" I ask him and put it on speaker
"I don't know if dinner is a good idea" he responds and I grab my phone and put it to my ear
"What do you mean?"
